BATH, England -- Get ready to start hearing a lot about the Bath
Spa Project, a $30 million development here that will restore to
the English countryside the age-old tradition of using hot mineral
waters to rejuvenate the body and calm the mind.
The therapeutic use of the waters in the Bath region dates to
pre-Roman times, but it was the Romans who cultivated the springs
and built an impressive bathing complex. Only its ruins remain, and
they are a huge attraction, drawing 1 million tourists to Bath each
year. Down through the ages, Bath's local population and untold
numbers of visitors have enjoyed the waters, for drinking and
bathing.
As the Roman Tacitus put it in 80 A.D.: "It's one of those
luxuries that stimulate to vice."
He was right. In the social culture of the 1970s, the baths
became the scene of, well, vice, and Britain's National Health
Service officially closed them in 1978. It is not likely that they
will ever reopen, but it turns out that the hot springs can be
tapped elsewhere in the city.
About four years ago, the Bath Tourism Bureau and the Thermae
Development Co. decided to build a new Bath spa, just down the
street from the ruins. An ambitious and expensive idea, most of its
funding came from Britain's Millennium Commission, which was doling
out millions for new tourism infrastructure in the run-up to
2000.
The project is nearing completion and is pegged for a December
opening, which is likely to be surrounded by considerable
fanfare.
In addition to the restoration of five historical buildings in
downtown Bath, the project will be housed in a contemporary-style,
glass-and-stone building and have indoor and outdoor thermal spa
bathing; steam rooms; massage and treatment rooms; a restaurant;
and an interpretation center. The warm mineral waters will be
pumped into all of the baths, making even the open-air rooftop pool
usable year round.
New York agent Debra Friedlander of Friedlander's Travel is a
BritAgent specialist who predicted the new spa will be well
received by U.S. visitors.
"People want different things from their vacations these days.
They want London, and they want to go outside London as well. This
will be a real incentive to get them to Bath," said Friedlander,
who has operated her Manhattan leisure agency since 1986.
"Bath already is such a great base for touring, and this [spa]
will be an extra incentive for clients," she added.
Visitors can use the spa all day for an entry fee of about $50.
A two-hour admission will cost about $24 ; a four-hour admission
about $35. Friedlander said she believes many U.S. tourists will
find those fees reasonable.
Treatments, such as massages and body wraps, will cost extra,
but Friedlander noted that the all-day entry charge to use the
basic facilities is considerably less than Americans pay to enter
U.S. spas on a day pass.
Tourism officials said they expect 200,000 people per year to
visit the new spa project. Peter Rollins, manager of the Bath
Tourism Bureau, said that few visitors leave the city without
seeing the Roman Baths and admiring Bath's Georgian
architecture.
"From the end of 2002," he said, "no one will want to leave the
city without experiencing the rooftop thermal pool, as well."
Rollins said the revived spa would be the "ideal destination for
the growing number of health tourists -- people who combine
vacations with the pursuit of well-being."
The spa market is a lucrative segment of England's travel
industry. A report released earlier this year by the English
Tourism Council, called Heath Benefits: The Market Opportunities
for Health Tourism in England, says spa breaks contribute $2
billion a year to England's economy. It estimated the figure could
double if more facilities were made available.
The Bath area already is a popular destination for U.S.
tourists; 20% of all overseas visitors to the southwest region of
England, where Bath is located, hail from the U.S. The region is
easily reached by train or bus from London. For more information,
visit www.bathspa.co.uk.